Tens of thousands of people live in the camps located in northeastern Syria, a significant part of which are family members of former ISIS fighters. The largest of the camps is the al-Holi camp, where, according to various estimates, there are between 40,000 and 50,000 people.
According to the office of the UN human rights representative OHCHR, according to the latest information, there would be approximately 15,000 women and 31,000 children in the al-Holi refugee camp.
Among the tens of thousands, there are about ten Finns, most of whom are children. All of them have Finnish citizenship.
– I can’t explain exactly how we have been in contact with individual citizens. I can say that they have not, mainly these adult mothers, shown any kind of inclination to interact with the Finnish authorities, says the head of consular affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jussi Tanner.
Tanner does not begin to assess why the Finnish mothers in the camp do not want to be in contact with the authorities of their home country.
– Of course, that says something in our opinion as well. They do know how to contact us, but they haven’t used that information.
The situation has continued as described for several years. The situation has resulted in the authorities not having the opportunity to evacuate Finns from the camps in northeastern Syria.
– It’s really not a matter of choosing Finland now. The obligations of public authorities, our constitutional obligations, are exactly the same as always before. That is, to protect the children, if at all possible. But that’s not possible at the moment because that kind of contact with them doesn’t exist, Tanner says.
Due to the lack of communication, the ministry does not have a strong idea of the conditions under which the Finns live in the camp at the moment.
Researcher: The situation in the camp is difficult
The situation in al-Holi’s camp in general is a doctoral researcher familiar with Syria Harry Lehtolaakson according to difficult.
– We are talking about a very vulnerable group. When it comes to such different repatriation plans, the situation is very difficult, because citizens of so many different countries are involved. And humanitarian conditions are very poor.
In a report published at the beginning of the year by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, it is estimated that about 46 percent of the camp’s residents are Iraqi citizens, about 38 percent Syrians and 16 percent citizens of other countries.
The camp has, for example, citizens of European countries who became wives of Isis fighters and their children. According to Lehtolaakso, the fate of the Al-Holi refugee camp depends on how smoothly the change of power proceeds.
It is about what kind of agreement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group leading the revolution, will reach with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which controls the eastern and northern parts of Syria.
– The will to dismantle the camp is tough. For example, Iraq has announced that it wants to repatriate its own citizens by 2027.
– Of course, this is not in the hands of Iraq alone that this will happen when it comes to citizens of so many countries.
Lehtolaakso, who is doing his dissertation at the University of Helsinki, sees positive signs in the way HTS has expressed its handling of the change of power. HTS has promised better governance in Syria, and it has promised, among other things, to protect minorities.
– If their approach to this camp is similarly moderate, I hope that the dismantling of the camp would happen more peacefully than one could imagine happening in such a conflict area.
A moderate change of power would also be reflected in the situation in the al-Holi camp. According to Lehtolaakso, strong national commitment is needed to dismantle the camp, i.e. that dozens of different nationalities want to repatriate their own residents.
– I could see that Unicef would have a big role in this, because so many of the residents of this camp are minors. Among other things, there are those who have received their birth certificates [terroristijärjestö] From ISIS.
ISIS birth certificates are not accepted as official documents, which is why international help is needed to get these people new documents and find themselves a home.
According to Lehtolaakso, we still have to be careful with ISIS.
– Isis is very skilled at taking advantage of power change and power vacuum situations. They have been in constant contact with the al-Holi camp and they have smuggled families and people out of there. You should be prepared for this kind of movement.
Worst case scenario: collapse of local government
According to media reports, Turkish-backed rebel forces have launched an attack against Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The camps in northeastern Syria are specifically managed by the Syrian Kurdish forces.
– According to our understanding, there have been no battles in the immediate surroundings of the camps, Tanner says.
According to the latest information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, heavy fighting has taken place hundreds of kilometers away around the city of Manbij. The threat in the region is related to the rapid collapse of the Kurdish regime.
– As a result, combatants held in detention centers for 6-7 years could be released uncontrollably.
According to Tanner, this would be a “nightmare scenario” in terms of counter-terrorism and security. He does not begin to assess how likely such a development is at the moment.
Tanner is satisfied that Finland has been able to evacuate a total of 26 children.
– The children have come to Finland a long time ago. They are in school and at the same time under the supervision of the authorities. It is a much safer option for us than if they had been in the camp there for almost six years.
According to Tanner’s information, the repatriation of people who returned to Finland from the camp has gone “well considering the circumstances”